Why Men Can’t Have It All

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For the first time in polling history, men experience more work/home conflict related stress than women.
At higher rates than ever, men want to be at home, having a part in raising their kids.
They don’t want to just show up at sports games, and think they’re the world’s best dad.
But many women don’t want to go to work

With the choice:
37% of women would prefer to work full time
50% part time
And 11% wouldn’t work at all
Compared to the 75% of men who would want to work full time

The weeks workload is evening out:
Women: 59 hours
Men: 58 hours

But Men still work outside the home 11 more hours than their (partners in dual working couples)
Making work/home conflict a bigger deal for men

[For dual earning couples]
6% more women than men say they are happy with their lives
And men are twice as likely to say that they are unhappy with their lives than women

A more balanced work/home achievement rate would solve the male crisis

The question remains:
Why hasn’t the demise of institutionalized sexism, and higher education rates amongst women led to more success outside the home?

Contributing factors

Fields of work
Women dominate the education field
Men dominate the engineering and MBA programs

The Wharton school is the closest to achieving “the magic half” of gender equality in MBA programs[4]
and it is still 58% male

Money’s a pretty big incentive to stay outside the home.

Location
Currently, men are at work longer, leaving them less time to
Help around the house
Spend time with the kids the kids

Even if they are willing to help, they’re in another place

Postpartum
Many work places are now offering men pregnancy leave if their spouse is expecting

In California, where up to 6 weeks of unpaid leave is available to fathers, only %29 of those who take the leave are men

But think about it:
If there are no health complications:
The baby needs feeding (80% are breastfed)
The baby sleeps
The mother rests
And occasionally the baby goes to the bathroom
Sure mom can use some help, but days on leave are often listless for dads

Expectations
Even if the man does the cleaning, the woman is often blamed by others if the house is not cleaned well enough.

Reactions
Whether cultural, emotional, or something else, women overwhelmingly feel guiltier pulling late nights at the office, or going on extended business trips with kids.

Communication breakdown
Woman: “support me more”
man: “But you always tell me I’m doing it wrong.”
Don’t worry, sometimes progress comes in fits and starts. Adjusted per family income is on the rise, and three times as many father’s spend time with their kids as in 1965.